As an image forming apparatus of an electrophotographic type, an image forming apparatus has been known which has an image carrier carrying thereon a developer image, a transfer device transferring the developer image from the image carrier to a medium to be transferred and a collection device collecting transfer residual developer remaining on the image carrier after the transfer.
As the collection device that is provided in the image forming apparatus, a toner container has been suggested which has a cleaner collecting residual toner on the image carrier, an auger conveying the toner collected by the cleaner and a sensing bar fixed to the auger (for example, see JP-A-H04-152377).
In the toner container, the auger is spirally formed by an elastic material. Also, the image forming apparatus is provided with a detection unit that faces the sensing bar.
A compressive deformation of the auger due to the toner collected in the toner container brings the sensing bar into contact with the detection unit. Thereby, the detection unit detects that the toner container is full of the toner.
According to the toner container disclosed in JP-A-H04-152377, the auger is compressively deformed due to the toner collected in the toner container, so that the sensing bar is moved.
Therefore, when the residual toner is accumulated so as to concentrate at a periphery of the auger, the auger is compressively deformed even though the toner container is not full. As a result, the detection unit may erroneously detect that the toner container is full of the toner.